Though what I have eaten so far has been good to me as far as not upsetting my digestive system and I still believe that meat will be a good addition to my diet for the reasons I discussed in my previous post But Why Goodbye?, I can’t say I’m as excited about this transition as I was prior to actually committing to it.

I certainly don’t regret the decision to change my diet for the future and still plan to continue to eat meat. I feel as though I will perhaps be more excited about the change once I am more comfortable eating meat in larger quantities and on a more regular basis. There are a multitude of exciting recipes I’ve been wanting to try which I will share at the bottom of this post. As of now, I am still in the slow process of transitioning and will continue to post updates as I see important changes happening.

If and when I try these recipes, I will be sure to post reviews on how they are and how my body reacts to them.

]]>https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/after-thoughts/feed/0carleenhoyThe Second Stephttps://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/19/
https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/19/#respondSun, 23 Mar 2014 18:36:37 +0000http://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/?p=19In the last 8 years that I have been a vegetarian, I’ve noticed that the world has erupted into an absolute bacon craze. People are fanatic about bacon. I remember bacon being quite tasty before I was a vegetarian, but I have been under the guise that it must have gotten better in the past decade. Why else would people be wearing bacon pants and eating bacon icecream and other such strange wonders?

Today there was some bacon cooked up with our dinner. So, I decided to try a piece. Sure, it was tasty. But it was not the fireworks explosion of mouth joy that everyone seems to play it up as. Once again I did not feel ill afterwards though, so that is a big plus!

At the very least I feel a little accomplished that I have now eaten two different types of meat without any issue. I may not quite understand the bacon craze in it’s entirety, but I suppose I can at least participate in eating it now.

Bacon baby formula… really?

]]>https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/19/feed/0carleenhoyVegetarian starting to eat meat againThe First Bitehttps://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/the-first-bite/
https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/the-first-bite/#respondThu, 20 Mar 2014 18:17:27 +0000http://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/?p=14As of March 20th of 2014, I guess I am no longer considered a “vegetarian”.

My family had plans to go for fish and chips at our local C-Lovers fish and chips restaurant. I made the conscious decision when the meal was planned that I would try the fish during this meal and informed my family so that they could be supportive (and not completely shocked when I ordered).

Completely ignoring the baby steps I spoke about earlier this week, I went ahead and jumped back into an omnivore lifestyle. I was delighted to find that I experienced no symptoms of sickness or stomach pain after eating fish and, as I was previously concerned about.

However, I must end this post with a bit of negativity. Though I was happy to experience no sickness from eating fish, I wasn’t too thrilled with the taste of my meal. To me, it seemed bland and unexciting, though my family claimed it tasted delicious just like fish and chips normally is. Perhaps I was just expecting to be wowed by my first meat. Perhaps next time!

C-Lovers Fish & Chips Restaurant

]]>https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/the-first-bite/feed/0carleenhoyEating fish for the first timeBaby Stepshttps://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/baby-steps/
https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/baby-steps/#commentsThu, 13 Mar 2014 18:10:34 +0000http://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/?p=12For people intending to change their diet from a vegetarian diet to a omnivorous diet, there are a few commonly suggested rules to follow when making the switch:

Take probiotics prior to ingesting any meat to ensure an adequate supply of healthy gut bacteria for optimal digestion. Some people may also benfit from taking digestive enzymes before and during the transition. These items can be found easily at any health food store and are starting to become more widely available at grocery and retail store chains.

Start by incorporating meat based broths into the diet before eating any actual meat.

When first beginning to eat meat, start with fish or chicken. Eat it earlier in the day and don’t eat anything else for a few hours afterwards to give your body time to react appropriately and make note of any feelings of discomfort.

While I can not say from personal experience whether these tips are necessary steps or not, they make sense for those wanting to be cautious.

]]>https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/baby-steps/feed/1carleenhoyBut Why Goodbye?https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/but-why-goodbye/
https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/but-why-goodbye/#commentsThu, 13 Mar 2014 03:24:04 +0000http://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/?p=7As of March of this year, I have been living a vegetarian lifestyle for eight years. Two of those years were spent as a vegan and large supporter of animal rights. People have continually told me that I would end up giving up my vegetarian lifestyle and such conversations usually led to fights. Unfortunately (for me), I must admit that those people were right.

I have decided to begin to eat meat for two basic reasons:

I am completely bored of my diet. I am rarely enthused to eat a meal unless it is a completely unhealthy fast food type of meal. Lately, the idea of eating meat has seemed much, much more appetizing than continuing eating what I have been eating for the last near-decade.

I am getting to the point in my life where I have to start making decisions for more people than just myself. I worry that my future children will grow up confused by their mother’s eating habits and that there is potential that they will decide to make dietary changes that may not benefit them.

With that said, I will be attempting to add meat – very slowly – back into my diet, and will be reporting my progress as I do. This doesn’t mean that I no longer support animal rights, but I choose now to support them in different ways.

]]>https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/but-why-goodbye/feed/1carleenhoyThe End of an Erahttps://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/the-end-of-an-era/
https://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/the-end-of-an-era/#commentsMon, 10 Mar 2014 10:05:45 +0000http://goodbyeveggies.wordpress.com/?p=4As of late, I have searched long and hard for information for vegetarians who have decided to begin to eat meat again, but who don’t know what to expect or how to begin the process. I found nearly no information on the subject, especially not the personal accounts and opinions that I was hoping to read about before I made the plunge myself.

Vegetarians are typically scared to consume meat because they believe that it will make them feel ill, and I can attest to this. I found many articles denouncing that idea and saying that it is completely unfounded. None of these articles, however, seemed to be able to give any hard evidence that this fear is based on myth. The idea vegetarians have is that after some time, their stomachs discontinue producing certain enzymes that are helpful in digesting animal protein. The theory makes sense, as our bodies do adapt to new lifestyles. Much like the flip side, though, the theory doesn’t have any hard evidence behind it.

In light of my struggle, I have made the decision to publish my own personal account of getting back to a omnivorous diet with the hope that it may help someone else along the line.